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Tournament seeks fish pretty as a picture

There are fishing tournaments that require anglers to bring their catch to the scales and they keep their fish. There also are catch-and-release contests.

L.A. Leonard offers a picture-perfect alternative, one that improves the fish's chance of staying alive. Leonard is the director of the All Waters Fishing Association, which he founded in 1988 in Morehead City, N.C.

In addition to weight/size tournaments on its Eco Mega Tour in the Southeast, the AWFA oversees a separate schedule of photo-and-release events, including the Photo 2 Slam on Oct. 16 in Savannah and the surrounding area.

"We're unique," Leonard, who resides in Roswell near Atlanta, said in a telephone interview this week. "We've done weight tournaments. This time we're doing the photo tournament. It's a conservation move."

The AWFA, which sprung from a bass and trout conservation club in North Carolina, has a motto: "To show courtesy and respect for each other, the fishing resource and the environment. ALWAYS."

Leonard writes on his website that the photo-and-release format is fun and better for both the angler and a fish.

This format means boats don't need live wells. The fish are photographed and released where they are caught. The entire process is explained at the captains meeting the Friday night before the tournament.

On Oct. 16, teams will be angling for redfish and trout, with potentially a $7,500 reward for the team with the two biggest fish combined in the separate species.

"We furnish the camera, the ruler. All they have to do is show up and pay $150 per team," said Leonard, noting that teams can be of two, three or four anglers.

"It's simple. They have a ruler furnished. Have a fish on the ruler. Take a picture. Release a fish," he continued. "There's no way they can cheat."

Leonard sounded certain.

"I've had them try anything over the years," he said. "They can't (fool me)."

The Oct. 16 tournament in waters from Sunbury to Hilton Head Island, S.C., is open to anglers of all levels of experience, except professional guides.

Another wrinkle is that all power outboard water craft and paddle boats - from canoes to kayaks - are allowed.

The AWFA has a $20 annual membership fee. The entry fee of $150 per team is directly paid back into the prize money, Leonard said. Children under 12 are free.

The payout, based on 100 teams, is $7,500 for first place, $2,000 for second, $1,200 for third, $850 for fourth, $450 for fifth, $300 for sixth through 10th and $150 for 11-20.

The prize money for a 20-boat event is $2,000 for first, $1,200 for second and $800 for third.

"We have a minimum field of 20 we require to make it work," he said.

The AWFA covers Georgia, Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina.

"We're trying to centralize into bigger tournaments and have less of them," he said. "We will schedule any as low as 12 and as high as 30 tournaments in a year. Right now, with the economy the way it is, we've backed up."